What do the Rambling Rector, Emily Davis and Narrow Water have in common? They all live down the cobbled path between the whitewashed cottages at Pogue’s Entry in Antrim town, special because they are part of the Irish Garden Plant Society, all thriving thanks to members of the Northern Ireland group.
All over Ireland, there are gardens to visi,t both public and private, apart from Pogue’s Entry. A favourite visit is to the Ulster Folk and Transport Museum at Cultra where the Lismacloskey Rectory garden has been planted out by the society just as it would have been when the ladies and gentlemen strolled through in the 1800s.
What an interesting morning I had when I visited Antrim last week. I was greeted by Yvonne Penpraze, Robert Logan and Libby Searle. Over a cup of tea in one of the renovated cottages, I heard about the society and its dedication to sourcing and preserving Irish plants.
Robert explained that the summer is busy with garden visits where the emphasis is on identifying and planting Irish specimens whilst winter months feature a series of talks and seminars. Yvonne told me how, when preparing the Antrim garden with good soil and drainage, “we uncovered a well and lots of crockery and glass, perhaps from the days when a local woman and her family eked out an existence here”. She added: “We don’t all have green fingers, just an enthusiasm to build the message of the society.”
A little piece of history
Yvonne Penpraze on the cobbled lane leading to the Irish Garden Plant Society garden in Antrim town
Pogue’s Entry is famous for the novel written in the early 20th century by Alexander Irvine. Based on his upbringing, My Lady Of The Chimney Corner tells the story of a young mother and the hardship she endured from marrying outside her faith to the dreadful poverty the family endured. The cottage is now complete with the chimney corner where Anna sat with her husband and children.
With this background, I was fascinated. It’s said you are nearer God’s heart in a garden, certainly, no matter what you believe, a beautiful garden is a magical place.
Walking round, meeting the plants and the vegetables, seagulls called down to us, swifts dive-bombed us, and there was perfume in the air. The vegetable plot was thriving and I came away with a bag of Josh Toombs peas, purple pods and pink flowers replanted from a lady’s garden not far away and I had curly kale with bacon for tea. Flowers bloomed, all the colours under the sun and none of them clashed.
Society members are knowledgeable people, head gardeners from Hillsborough, Castlewellan and Rowallan amongst them as well as amateur gardeners, professional horticulturists, botanists, garden designers, all intent on researching, finding and propagating native plants to ensure their survival.
There have always been plant hunters, amongst them Augustine Henry, who grew up near Portglenone, a distinguished botanist who travelled widely in Asia and his interest in plants grew especially in China. He gathered rare plants – lilies, limes, rhododendron and magnolia amongst them. He sent 15,000 specimens and seeds and 500 plant samples back to Kew Gardens and to Ireland, where they adapted to our climate so, through generations, they’ve been accepted as Irish plants and today are all around us. In 1913, he returned to Ireland and was appointed the first professor of forestry at what is now University College Dublin.
Careful renovation
We were joined by Philip Magennis, event organiser of the Antrim and Newtownabbey Borough Council, which manages Pogue’s Entry, and over 10 years has restored the cottages so now the public can visit and enjoy the story of Anna and her beautiful garden. It was Billy McCone, a founder member of the society, who spotted the favourable piece of land at the back of the entry and so the wasteland was cultivated and the garden began to take shape.
At one time, there was a potting shed where craft makers could meet and work; now forks and hoes, buckets and spades are in evidence. We finished up back in one of the cottages, which dates back over 200 years and there I learned to appreciate what gardening is all about and how every one of us can contribute to prolonging Irish plants. They are around us all the time, and there just might well be a rarity amongst them.
So here’s the challenge: collect seeds, bulbs and cuttings from your own plants, cultivate them and gift them to friends in order to spread the beauty of Irish plants. Those gifts will ripple out, and just think of the legacy you are leaving for years to come and for millions of people.
Pogue’s Entry seasonal opening from May to September, Thursday and Friday 2pm-5pm, Saturday 10am-1pm and 2-5pm. Details at visitantrimandnewtownabbey.com and www.irishgardenplantsociety.com.
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